Recent Comments

Your Ad Here

Good quality makeup brushes can be a sound investment. They are used often, and should withstand a fair amount of abuse. That said, I was blown away at a makeup artist trade show a few years ago the first time I saw a Japanese powder brush that was over $200 (?!) While who wouldn’t love a brush of that caliber delicately carrassing our face skin every morning, let’s get real- If my discretionary income ever gets to that level, I’m pretty sure I’ll still have better things to spend my money on.

In the interest of not only frugality, but also space saving- it’s a good idea to start with basic essential brushes and build from there. Here are the three eye brushes that I reach for almost daily.

A domed head blending brush.
Why? Blend, blend, blend. And when you think you’re done, blend some more. This mantra makes a good blending brush key- it allows you to apply your crease color softly and evenly, and blends colors together flawlessly. The domed bristles give you an airbrush finish instead of a harsh line. If push comes to shove, I can apply color to my lid with my finger, but I’d never use any other brush to put shadow in my crease.Splurge- MAC 224 brush- $29Save- Sonia Kashuk Small Multi Purpose- $10

A small, angled brush.
This one truly is a work horse. First and foremost, I use it to groom my brows. A thin line of eyeshadow coordinated with my hair color traces the bottom of my brows to give them definition, then gets blended upwards to fill in sparse areas. Also, this brush works beautifully with various mediums of eye liner. Powder, gel and liquid all get a clean, even line with an angled brush. Advanced techniques such as highlighting below the brow bone, adding a pop of shimmer to the lid or carving out strong crease line work well with this brush.Splurge- MAC 266 brush- $19.50Save- Royal & Langnickel Silk Eyebrow/liner- $5.99